Priestley, Joseph
The Oxford Companion to British History
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2002
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© The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. (Hide copyright information)
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Priestley, Joseph (1733–1804). Chemist, clergyman, and political theorist. Priestley was born in Yorkshire and educated at Batley Grammar School and at Daventry dissenting academy. An amateur scientist of great renown, his discovery of ‘dephlogisticated air’, later named oxygen by Lavoisier, transformed the study of chemistry. As a theologian, Priestley moved from
presbyterianism via arianism to a unitarian position. He argued against the atonement; questioned traditional views of the person of Christ; and rejected the doctrine of Christ's perfection. He was a lively polemicist. His
Essay on the Principles of Government (1768) was a strong plea for liberty, and he campaigned for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts and for the abolition of the slave trade. An incautious phrase in his
Letter to Edward Burn (1790) caused him to be satirized as ‘Gunpowder Priestley’, plotting to blow up the British constitution, and brought down upon him the wrath of the Birmingham ‘church and king’ mob. In July 1791 it burned his house, wrecked his laboratory, and destroyed most of his papers. Priestley left England and spent the rest of his life in Pennsylvania.
Tim S. Gray
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The Enlightened Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1773 to 1804.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Church History; 3/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; The Enlightened Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work...Schofield's intellectual biography of Joseph Priestley (1733-1804). Forty years in...becomes the cornerstone. Reverend Joseph Priestley, amateur chemist, political liberal...
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The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1733 to 1773.(Review)
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 4/1/1999; ; 700+ words
; The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work...Schofield begins his biography of Joseph Priestley's early life with an account...was to be characteristic of Joseph Priestley's entire life" (p. 2...
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The death of Joseph Priestley: February 6th, 1804.(Months Past)
Magazine article from: History Today; 2/1/2004; ; 700+ words
; ...Jefferson of the United rates wrote to Joseph Priestley, clergyman and chemist, when...sentiment. On the contrary, Priestley's radical views on religion...went on to Philadelphia, where Priestley was again received with flattering...
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Good management at Joseph Priestley College in Leeds, say inspectors.
M2 Presswire; 7/5/2002; 700+ words
; ...Government: Good management at Joseph Priestley College in Leeds, say inspectors...Inspectorate of the inspection of Joseph Priestley FE College, located in Leeds...over. NOTES TO EDITORS 1. Joseph Priestley College inspection report is...
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A Founding Father Long Forgotten.(Periscope; PAGE TURNER)(Joseph Priestley)
Magazine article from: Newsweek; 1/12/2009; ; 693 words
; ...minister, scientist and polymath Joseph Priestley is credited with the discovery...founding principles. THE IDEA: Priestley deserves more than just a footnote...s more fantastical teachings, Priestley was given a hero's welcome in...
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The lightning & the key: a letter from William Franklin to Joseph Priestley.(Poem)
Magazine article from: New Criterion; 4/1/2001; ; 700+ words
; ...perfectibility And never knew an end of inquiry, Who should say this one is not improved By death, who sought to profit by all means? Joseph, you recall when we were young, My father and I, how I followed him And how he doted on this "natural son" Made in his...
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 "The Birmingham Post (England)")
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Weekend: Archive - The rebel without a home; Jospeh Priestley was a mass of contradictions: a church Minister who denounced evolutionary theories, yet a scientist who discovered oxygen and photosynthesis. He came to work in Birmingham, but fled after a riot destroyed his home, says Chris Upton.(Features)
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 2/7/2004; 700+ words
; ...not have too long to wait. Joseph Priestley was something of a millennarian...Thomas Jefferson. We tend to see Joseph Priestley as a mass of contradictions...the word is 'rationality'. Joseph Priestley was born into the Age of Reason...
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 "Birmingham Mail (England)")
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Priestley was more than just a scientist.(Features)
Newspaper article from: Birmingham Mail (England); 1/20/2007; 700+ words
; ...both turbulence and talent, Joseph Priestley was both a controversial and...MEMORIAL... the statue of Joseph Priestley that stood in Victoria Square...Now CHAMBERLAIN SQUARE... Joseph Priestley statue is now by Birmingham...
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Renaissance genius, rebooted; Priestley would fit in digital world.(SHOW)(ON THE EDGE)(Column)
Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 3/13/2009; 700+ words
; ...In exile from his native England, Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) - chemist, political...Johnson's engrossing new portrait of Priestley and the intellectual milieu in which he thrived. Priestley, in other words, would have fit right...
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Priestley was more than just a scientist
Newspaper article from: Birmingham Mail; 1/20/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...of both turbulence and talent, Joseph Priestley was both a controversial and inspirational...Surrey. In the succeeding years, Priestley gained a reputation not only as...supporter of intellectual liberty, Priestley was a firm believer in the importance...
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Joseph Priestley
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography
Joseph Priestley The English clergyman and chemist Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) contributed to the foundation of...of oxygen in the animal-plant metabolic system. Joseph Priestley was born on March 13, 1733, at Fieldhead. His...
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Priestley, Joseph (1733–1804)
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
PRIESTLEY, JOSEPH (1733 – 1804) PRIESTLEY, JOSEPH (1733 – 1804), English cleric, chemist...theologian, philosopher, and social and political critic. Joseph Priestley, the eldest son of a maker and dresser of woolen cloth...
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Priestley, Joseph
Book article from: Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
Priestley, Joseph ENGLISH THEOLOGIAN AND CHEMIST 1733 – 1804 Joseph Priestley was a dissenting Unitarian minister in England at a time when adherence...
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J. B. Priestley
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography
...subject of another fine Priestley biography in the same...1927. About this time Priestley achieved great popularity...with Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews. A strain of...silvery laughter" of Priestley's comic spirit. Other...
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Parkes, Joseph
Book article from: A Dictionary of British History
Parkes, Joseph (1796–1865). Parkes was an early example of the kind...influenced by Bentham , became a solicitor, and married a daughter of Joseph Priestley . In 1828 he was secretary to a committee which lobbied successfully...
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